"Sharp, quirky, and occasionally nettlesome", Walking the Berkshires is my personal blog, an eclectic weaving of human narrative, natural history, and other personal passions with the Berkshire and Litchfield Hills as both its backdrop and point of departure. I am interested in how land and people, past and present manifest in the broader landscape and social fabric of our communities. The opinions I express here are mine alone. Never had ads, never will.

June 06, 2013

There have been some concerns raised in the land trust community that one of the impacts of climate change will be the displacement of some native species by others that are expanding their ranges. A recent article by Attorney James L Olmsted entitled: "The Butterfly Effect: Conservation Easement, Climate Change and Invasive Species"suggests a number of changes that land Trusts can make to their easement language to anticipate this problem, but the underlying premise that in-migrating North American species "will in many cases be invasive" is on questionable scientific ground.

It is wrong to think
of species and natural communities as static and restricted to where they are
today, or were at the time of European contact.

The term “Invasive” is
both relative in space and time and too
broadly applied to North American species that are expanding their
natural ranges in response to environmental factors and opportunities. Birds have been doing this for a very long
time. The black vultures now present in
large numbers in Connecticut were not found north of Maryland in the first part
of the 19th century (all those dead horses at Gettysburg gave them a
beachhead). Cardinals were not part of
my mother’s Massachusetts girlhood. Coyotes
are filling an available large predator niche after the extirpation of wolf and
cougar populations.

The term “Invasive” has more validity when it is restricted to introduced species, and then only to those which have such characteristics as spreading across
spatial gaps, establishing virtual monocultures and multiple dispersal methods. Having these attributes, species
should be demonstrated to displace and
outcompete native species to be considered invasive. Under this
definition, House Sparrows are invasive, but Cattle Egrets which, bless their
hearts, got here by crossing the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean all on their
own, are not.

When I was part of the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group that
developed criteria to determine which species should be considered invasive or
potentially invasive in the Commonwealth, we had a very hard debate about Black
Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), a central Appalachian species which can be
problematic in pine barren systems in the Northeast. Had the glaciers receded a few thousand years
earlier, Robinia would likely have expanded its natural range a few hundred
miles further north, resulting in a different kind of natural community where
it overlapped with pitch pine and scrub oak.
Humans helped it make the jump, planting Black Locust for fence poles
(which sometimes resprouted!).

My advice for anyone drafting a conservation easement or management plan is to start by answering
the question; “What are we trying to conserve and managing for?”
The question of invasiveness relates directly to whether a species
impacts the viability of conservation targets. The best example I can remember from my TNC
days concerned a fen in NJ that was also a bog turtle site. The fen had a large and expanding incursion
of purple loosestrife (an exotic species non-native to North America). There were two possible conservation targets
to manage for at this site: the rare natural community represented by the fen,
and the federally threatened bog turtle species. The condition of the fen was severely
degraded and attempting to eradicate the loosestrife threatened worse
disturbance as well as the bog turtles that still were using it, so it was
determined not to try to manage the fen as fen, but as bog turtle habitat. The bog turtle basking areas were being shaded out by the loosestrife, so
the management prescription was to cut the loosestrife stalks by hand each year
before they set seed. This took several
days of cutting by hand, but was the best response available to conserve the primary
conservation target.

So, if we are managing for rare and restricted habitat types, some of
which will not be viable in their current configuration, or indeed in any form with
climate change, we are making a choice to prioritize them against the
prevailing forces of change. That may
indeed be the right thing to do, but even then the calcareous fens of Connecticut
will not have the same species composition and structure as those in Maryland
even when our climate changes to that of Maryland today.
There are special gaps that are unlikely to be crossed by native fen
species present today in Maryland but not in Connecticut. That is the beauty of natural variation. Diversity matters, but it plays out in many
different ways from site to site.

Especially with large, “functional” landscapes, the idea is not to
manage them to maintain exactly the species types and forest composition of
today, but so that they are robust and resilient enough to maintain
biodiversity, in whatever forms may be viable in the future. Invasive plants may well be a factor that
needs to be accounted for, but it does not begin or end with a list of species
that are “meant to be here” and others that are not.

May 05, 2012

I cannot tell whether the fog that hangs in the air outside will burn off later today, or continue to mist through the trees and keep everything green and damp throughout the day. My vegetable garden calls for my spade, and if I do not make the time to thoroughly work over that small patch of ground it with be thick with deep rooted weeds when I plant it in earnest a week or two from now. Another bed of perrenial herbs and wildflowers is overrun by choke cherry suckers, and it may be that this year I am forced to destroy the garden to save it. There is garlic mustard testing the boundaries of my modest backyard from beachheads it has established at the property lines. Ignore that, and the choke cherry suckers will be but a modest inconvenience in comparison.

I love gardens in spring, however, especially the one that contains ephemeral wildflowers. I have let the dog toothed violets and ramps seed and grow where they will, and watched with delight as new Jack-in-the-Pulpit plants appear in other parts of the flower bed from their parent. There are Dutchmen's britches and bloodroot and both have started to find new niches amid the ferns. There are trillium and wild geraniums and wild ginger, and even a clump of calcium-loving large yellow ladyslippers. There is a new seedling growing this year, apart from the clump of many flowered stalks nearby, and I believe it has accomplished that most unusual feat for one of these orchids and actually germinated.

Later in the season the cardinal flowers and white turtleheads will rise above the fading green leaves of these plants as the early flowers have all gone to seed. I'm not sure what blight did in my formerly vigorous stand of Giant Solomon's Seal but it has all but vanished where once it flourished. I watch, and I weed, and I wonder, and still it is this garden that helps me mark the progress of Spring to early summer better even than the uncurling maple leaves, or the nesting wrens at the back of the yard. It has taken a decade for this garden to assume its present shape, and with luck, and a bit of intervention when an invader makes a run at it, it will continue to evolve and change for many years to come.

July 10, 2011

We have been enjoying a remarkable stretch of fine summer weather here in the Litchfield Hills. True, there has been some rain, and in general the season has been wetter and cooler than usual, but for all that there have been a number of brilliant blue skies with low humidity and a fresh wind. The temperatures have stayed in the comfortable 80s and high 70s during the daylight hours, with cool evenings ideal for sleeping.

Nonetheless today I hear the drone of the first cicada, a harbinger of the advancing season if ever there were one. My vegetable garden is in that transitional stage where the early greens and herbs have bolted but the beans, squash and tomatoes have yet to ripen. The wild blackcaps are in season now, if one knows where to find a sufficiency without undue risk from poison ivy, and the cultivated red raspberries in my yard are more productive than in other years. My thoughts turn to pie, and vanilla ice cream smothered in berries, and cool drinks in the evening shade.

I am also considering which of my potential summer projects I will actually tackle this year. Will I get the oft-threatened dumpster and cart away the accumulated dross and bulky waste produced over a decade in residence, or will I sharpen my chainsaw and drop the sickly butternut and carve another totem pole? Is this the year when I will take the well seasoned ceder posts and make a pentagonal rondavel complete with phragmites thatch? Will I muster the energy and enthusiasm required for any of these ventures, or will I be content to trim the verge, weed around the edges, and acknowledge that I am still weary from the long journey to life after divorce? Despite my genetic predisposition and familial conditioning to bustle, there is something to be said for simply taking one's ease. For that, there is fresh mint for iced tea, and the occasional key lime mojito.

Today my children will come over from their mother's for the afternoon so that the three of us can go to the local carnival. They have an African Elephant to ride and the usual carni amusements, and there is a model train display in the partially restored Union Train Station. It is a fine day for cotton candy and colored balloons.

June 23, 2011

I wrote here in the Lakeville Journal about the Mountain Lion that was struck and killed by a car in Milford, CT, among other incipient arrivals in western New England. Fair use excerpt:

"The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection is working on the standard hypothesis that this was an illegally held captive animal that somehow got loose, perhaps wandering over from New York, as the eastern mountain lion is officially extinct outside of the Florida panther subspecies.

Preliminary investigation of the specimen, however, confirmed that it had not been neutered or declawed and was a lean animal, which does not strengthen that hypothesis, so they are waiting for DNA tests.

Moose have been known to wander to Long Island Sound, but it is hard to imagine a viable population of cougars becoming established on Connecticut’s Gold Coast. The western mountain lion, however, visits backyard swimming pools and overlaps with encroaching development in the wildland/urban interface. They are expanding their ranges east and, like the coyote before them, it is only a matter of time before a few of these big cats wander into our region (if, indeed, they have not already done so).

Wildlife officials often say that if we had mountain lions here, there would be physical evidence from collisions with cars. There is one such example of that now, and it will be very interesting to learn whether this was truly someone’s pet or a long-ranging pioneer from Illinois and points west."

December 23, 2010

There is an empty place in the hearts of many today. I just learned the terribly sad news that Dr. Les Mehrhoff passed away last night. I worked with Les from many years on the Massachusetts Invasive Plant Advisory Group and his good humor, integrity and vast knowledge of plants and their geographic distribution were essential to the success of that initially awkward alliance of green industry and conservation interests.

Mostly, though, I worked with Les, and helped The Nature Conservancy reconnect with him after a long and regretable silence. He was a wonderful human being, and I was proud to count him as a friend and colleague.

Today answering machine still has his characteristic disclaimer that "I'f I'm not here, I'm probably somewhere" and I hope you are, my friend. Somewhere where weeds and rarities lie down together and Asa Gray answers all of your questions.

June 01, 2010

The quest for revolutionary war Salisbury Cannon took me to the waters of the Brandywine and the fields of Valley Forge last weekend. At the former I found nothing beside three European gun barrels inside the sadly depleted museum - a victim of state budget cuts- though I did find my way to the "Plowed Hill" where my Ogden and Dayton ancestors held the line in Stirling's Division against the British and Hessian onslaught. However on Sunday a friend and I struck gold, or rather what was occasionally gold painted iron, at Valley Forge.

I made an effort to slip loose the surely bonds of gender and ask for directions at the visitor center, only to be informed by the official I had selected that there were no American made revolutionary cannon at the National Historical Park, nor yet any cannon at all for that matter. My companion commented that had I selected one of the young, buzzcut rangers instead of the sedentary fellow at the tourist information desk, I might have gotten a different response - gender fail - but as it turned out we needn't have been discouraged because the place is swimming in artillery of a decidedly locally made character.

We came upon the 3 gun battery in the picture above at a redan near where Conway's Division encamped in the winter of 1777-1778, and determined that they were of two different calibers (4 or 6 pounders, perhaps) and at least one was a wooden replica (at right), which I believe rules it out as a Salisbury survivor. We ate our lunch and as we wove our way along one way roads through he part on various genealogical errands as well as on the look out for more guns we found many more iron cannon, ranging from light artillery to siege guns and mortars.

I wanted to pay a visit to the Washington Memorial Chapel, when my ancestor Thaddeus Thompson was said to have had a memorial tablet placed by his daughter Rhoda, one of the last real daughters of the Revolution still alive near the end of the 19th century. We asked after it at the gift shop, and while the volunteers there were initially uncertain whether we would find anything, I was able to say I thought it would be in the chapel itself and sure enough, it was one of just two large brass plaques in gothic script on either wall and had been polished by our guide without her really knowing its history! Old Thaddeus was just one of thousands of men who endured that winter, and was later wounded in the trenches at Yorktown and one of the first veterans to receive a pension for his injuries after the war. Whatever pull his daughter Rhoda had as one of the last tangible links to that era got him his solitary plaque on the church wall.

At the site of Knox's artillery park were a number of 4-9 pounders arranged on their gun carriages and
painted a flat yellow in imitation of bronze although they all were of iron. I am analyzing my images to see whether there are any patterns which will help us determine which batches may have come from the same foundry. I found few distinguishing marks, though one large cannon by the Chapel had what looked like 20 C engraved just before the vent.

We also came upon a monument to Maxwell's New Jersey Brigade, with my ancestors Matthias Ogden in command of the 1st and Elias Dayton in charge of the 3rd NJ regiments. The bronze soldier atop the pedestal is wrapped in a blanket and seems to be wearing woolen stockings.

The enemy never attacked Valley Forge, which is today besieged by an invasive sea of microstegium and excessive herbivory by white tailed deer but is treasured as open space by joggers and sunbathers. I had an absolutely delightful time, even if the answer "Yes, we have no artillery" proved unfounded.

The Commonwealth is accused of mismanaging the forest resources under its care, including badly conducted timber harvests, slipshod reasoning for liquidating entire stands and many other administrative and programmatic lapses that have jeopardized its credibility with the public and with outside reviewers. Back in 2004 the Commonwealth received provisional "green" certification from the Forest Stewardship Council for half a million acres - virtually all of publicly held forestland - and following a review last summer it failed to retain this FSC certification.

The FCS 2009 recertification auditing report is fascinating reading (scoll down a bit here for the .pdf). Its findings include a number of major and minor corrective actions that either had not been addressed when previously identified or which had manifested more recently. Among these were a number of auditing standards that clearly require more planning staff and resources than the various state agencies have to work with, which in itself is a deficiency called out in the plan and a chronic underfunding problem of longstanding. As a result, the Commonwealth has withdrawn whole sections of state forests, - including the SE portion of Massachusetts - for which management plans have not been drafted from FSC eligibility.

Other findings point to significant agency lapses and even systemic failures. For me this one was the most damning section of the review:

"Prior to harvesting of conifer plantations (often with complete removal), BoF and DWSP have not completed an adequate environmental assessment to assess impacts of long term ecological functions of the forest. Since their initial certification in 2004, all agencies under this certificate have harvested some plantations of non-native (and in some cases, native white pine) conifer species. BoF has been the most aggressive, with the least developed rationale for converting conifer plantations. DFW's conversion has been very limited and well-justified ecologically. Thus, this...does not apply to DWF. Justifications offered to the audit team differ by agency. For BoF the justification centers of two points: 1) that non-native species are intrinsically in conflict with biodiversity goals, and 2) aggressive regeneration harvesting of non-native stands presents an opportunity to create early successional habitat.

This rationale does not take into consideration the fact that such plantations offer valuable habitats viz: dense mature coniferous habitat used during migration as as winter habitat for animals. In addition, such habitat require at least 50 years to create, whereas early successional pioneer hardwoods require only a year or two. The precautionary principle would thus suggest that clearcutting such stands would be a last, not first, resort (as mentioned again, below, Norway Spruce is non-invasive). The evaluation team found no evidence that the positive aspects of retaining these plantations on the landscape have been considered, and thus BoF and DWSP have not presented a balanced environmental impact assessment - that addresses the pros and cons of their maintenance - prior to implementing a program for their rapid removal.

Second, forest management agencies are charged under FSC standards to maintain productive forests. Existing plantations offer some of the most productive stands on the entire ownership, as long as they are not in decline owing to forest health issues, such as root rots. We note that the Adams Road (Savoy SF) plantations averaged over 200 square feet of basal area and did not appear to be suffering from forest health issues.

We further note that Norway Spruce, while an exotic species, is demonstrably non-invasive and poses little threat to native plant communities."

The review team went on to call for an immediate halt to all clear cutting by the BoF and DWSP until a thorough environmental review is conducted. Given that the Boston media are still highlighting clear cuts on state land, it is unclear whether the commonwealth heeded this very strong requirement to cease and desist back in August of last year.

What is going on? Is Massachusetts, the bluest of the blue and greener than most, really doing a hatchet job on its natural resources? What, aside from the insular nature of state agencies and general lack of oversight and transparency, is causing these behaviors? Do you know what a well managed forest looks like? Does the Commonwealth? As one with more than a passing familiarity with many of the principal actors in this drama, I will offer a few thoughts on that in a subsequent post.

November 01, 2009

Just in time for Hallowe'en: the invasion of the harlequin ladybug! Readable here with free subscription.

"These
are not the sweet, friendly red-and-black ladybugs of childhood memory,
the benign foe of aphids, the farmer’s friend. They are an alien
species with rusty orange shells, once intentionally released as a
biological control for crop and landscape pests and now here to stay.

August 10, 2009

The federally Threatened bog turtle faces a new threat in the northern portion of its contiguous range. On August 5th, the USFWS issued an advisory bulletin that an unusually high number of dead and apparently diseased bog turtles have been reported from four states, including New York and Massachusetts. I received the alert by email from a colleague and the full bulletin is reposted here.

"...The number of bog turtles found dead in their wetland habitat (2 to 4 dead turtles in each of four wetlands in NY and MA) exceeds that which is typically reported.

In some cases, dead bog turtles have been found entirely intact, with no obvious cause of death.On several live bog turtles, a grayish or whitish substance and/or discoloration has beendocumented on the skin of the head, neck and limbs, as well as on the claws. In some cases,these appear as skin lesions. Scute sloughing and loss of claws and toes has also been observed.Based on data collected at a Massachusetts site, the symptoms appear to worsen over time.At this time, the causative agent(s) of the observed symptoms has not been identified..."

This is extremely troubling news. When I was with The Nature Conservancy, bog turtle conservation in Massachusetts, Connecticut and part of Eastern New York was a major focus of my work. The bog turtle is at the extreme northern extrent of its contiguous range in Massachusett. The USFWS Recovery Plan for the bog turtle's northern population identies just three bog turtle sites in the Commonwealth, but two of them are considered good sites and are under conservation management. I am intimately familiar with both of these, and know that if one has lost 2-4 adults to a new threat the viability of what would otherwise be considered a strong and vital population is in grave peril. Past research indicates that the loss of just one breeding adult a year at these sites would be enough to tip the balance toward extirpation.

The 2001 rare species recovery plan records what was known at that time about the threat posted to wild bog turtle populations by disease (my emphasis added):

"...At present, there are no substantiated reports of disease affecting a wild population of bog turtles, although at one site in Columbia County, New York (J. L. Behler, pers. comm) the number of dead turtles is cause for concern; eight dead bog turtles were collected during three visits to the site in 1988 and 1989 ( A. breisch, in Mt. 2000). A sick turtle removed from that population and held for several years in captivity tested positive for upper respiratory distress syndrome (URDS) upon necropy (J. L. Behler, pers. comm.). Although this could indicate a health problem within that communication, it is also possible that the turtle contracted this disease while in captivity. Disease issues have the potential to become a much larger threat to wild bog turtle populations as they are subjected to more handling by researchers or if manipulation of turtle populations is undertaken through the deliberate release into the wild of bog turtles from other areas, zoological collections, or those seized by law enforcement activities. It should be noted that thorough health screening of wild-caught bog turtles has not been a standard practice of researchers, although it may be warranted (Smith in iitt. 2001)..."

I do not know for certain whether all four sites where increased mortality and apparent disease have been observed coincide with those where there has been more handling by researchers, but it is highly likely at least at the first site where such observations were made, because very few people besides researchers even know where the turtles are or would know to report what they had observed to the proper authorities. In the Massachusetts case, only researchers have legal access to the sites.

"...Of additional concern is the recent (1997) discovery of Mycoplasma (the bacterium that adversely affects the desert tortoise) at a bog turtle site in New York. This disease has the potential to cause significant declines in bog turtle populations. The site where Mycoplasma has been discovered has been identified as one of the best remaining New York sites and lies in a valley with additional, extant sites leading to the possibility of spread of the disease through a significant portion of the remaining bog turtle range in New York State..."

The USFWS disease alert makes no mention of Mycoplasma and instead describes different symptoms. That is what is most alarming about this new threat. An unknown and highly lethal pathogen will take time to analyze, let alone isolate causes and develop a meaningful response. Bog turtles do not have any time. their populations are too small.

Consider that in 2006, a new disease affecting little brown bats in New York was first described for science. Three years later, white nose syndrome is causing up to 90-100% mortality in bat caves from the White Mountains of New Hampsive to sw Virginia. It has affected between 500,000 and 1,000,000 bats of several different species. There is still no absolute cause for this disease, nor a cure. One theory is that human activity may have been an initial vector for the spread of the fungus.

I suspect that the reason this new turtle disease has not yet been reported in Connecticut is that no researcher has been to our few remaining (and much poorer quality) bog turtle sites to check. There has not been a live turtle reported from a couple of these places in years. I am aware that several years ago, one Connecticut turtle was found by a passerby and taken to a public beach where it was spotted by a knowledgable person and ultimately returned to the site where it belonged. My understanding is that this turtle was later found dead.

This leaves open a difficult question. Should researchers visit other bog turtle sites to determine whether they, too, have evidence of increased mortality and apparant disease? Or should they refrain from doing so, given the potential that their activity could be contaminating clean sites? The felt soles of waders are known sources of introducing the microscopic alga Didymosphenia geminata or "Rock Snot" to trout streams. Unless soaked for at least 40 minutes in hot water at least 113° F (45° C) - or for 30 minutes with a 5% solution of dishwashing detergent - what keeps a researcher dry may be killing the very things they care for.

July 10, 2009

I saw one of America's Most Wanted while driving to work today. It was unmistakable, though I had to stop the car to be sure. There by the roadside growing halfway down the embankment but still high above the guardrail, were the enormous stalk, leaves and flowers of Heracleum mantegazzianum: the notorious Giant hogweed.

I must have driven passed this plant all growing season without noticing it, which might seem remarkable for a species that can grow a dozen feet high or more. This one was about 5' above the roadgrade, and about the same amount of plant downslope in a tangle of poison ivy that discourgaed closer inspection. The thing that cause my eye were the massive inflorescences: huge platters of flowers that looked a bit like Queen Anne's Lace on steroids. If it had not been in bloom, it might have escaped detection.

That's the challenge with new incursions by invasive / exotic species. There is often a delay between the time when they take hold in a new place and when they are observed and recognized for what they are. The mantra of invasive species control is early detection and rapid respponse, because for many of these organisms it becomes exponentially more difficult to eradicate or contrain them with the passage of time.

Heracleum mantegazzianium has been around for a long time. It was introduced horticulturally, as so many of these species were before their invasive attributes were recognized, with the first record of its planting back in 1917. The shady, moist areas in which it particularly thrives have not been especially overrun with Hogweed run amok, at least in where it is just gaining a toehold, but the plant I observed clearly had escaped from cultivation. There is a known population of the plants in Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut, a mile or so from where this one was observed, and utility wires above probably provided the perch for the bird which was the vector for the spread of their seed.

Hogweed, however, has one additional attribute which has made it a top priority for State and Federal noxious weed eradication efforts. The plant contains the toxin furocoumarin, which can make skin highly photosensitive, causing weeping blisters and permanent scarring. Contact with the eyes can cause blindness. For these reasons, authorites consider a threat to public health.

The plant superficially resembles cow parsnip and Queen Anne's Lace, but its size at maturity is a dead giveaway, especially when in bloom. I did my part for early detection and reported this finding, along with photographs and detailed information about its location, to Donna Ellis of the Connectticut Invasive Plant Working Group; Elizabeth Corrigan, who is responsible for coordinating rapid response efforts for this plant in our region elizabethcorrigan@yahoo.com; and Les Mehrhoff at the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England. It turns out that Corrigan drove by the same site on the same day and by her account "nearly drove off the road" when she saw the plant.

It is fortunate that I have lots of connections in the New England Invasive Species world, and that we have the chance to get this plant before all those seeds rain down. Who knows where else it may be lurking, unnoticed, out there in the wild?